New Theme Park Planned Near Houston

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Developers have announced plans for a sports and entertainment complex on what is now more than 600 acres of piney woods northeast of Houston.

Plans for the Grand Texas theme park are to open in the spring of 2015, filling a Houston-area amusement void left by the closing of AstroWorld in October 2005.

Part of the development team is the firm Innovative Leisure Partners, owned by former AstroWorld general manager Chuck Hendrix. He said he wanted to leave a legacy different from being "the guy who tore down AstroWorld."

Included in the project plans are a ballpark for an independent minor league team and a water park. The complex would be at the intersection of U.S. Highway 59 and state Highway 242 in New Caney, about 30 miles northeast of downtown Houston.